Progress, Potential, and Possibilities Podcast / Show

Send us a text Dr. Patrick D. Bangert, is Vice President of AI, and heads the AI Engineering and AI Sciences teams, at Samsung SDS. Samsung SDS is a subsidiary of the Samsung Group, which provides information technology (IT) services, and are active in research and development of emerging IT technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, Internet of things (IoT) and Engineering Outsourcing. Dr. Bangert is responsible for the Brightics AI Accelerator, a distributed ML training and automated ML product, and for X.insights, a data center intelligence platform. Among his other responsibilities, Dr. Bangert acts as a visionary for the future of AI at Samsung. Before joining Samsung, Dr. Bangert spent 15 years as CEO at Algorithmica Technologies, a machine learning software company serving the chemicals and oil and gas industries. Prior to that, he was assistant professor of applied mathematics at Jacobs University in Germany, as well as a researcher at Los Alamos National Laboratory and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Dr. Bangert obtained his machine learning PhD in mathematics and his Masters in theoretical physics from University College London. A German native, Dr. Bangert grew up in Malaysia and the Philippines, and later lived in the UK, Austria, Nepal and USA. He has done business in many countries and believes that AI must serve humanity beyond mere automation of routine tasks. Dr. Bangert is also an accomplished author, having written two books including - Machine Learning and Data Science in the Oil and Gas Industry: Best Practices, Tools, and Case Studies and Optimization for Industrial Problems Dr. Bangert also attended the Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies where he achieved a Master of Tibetan Psychology and Philosophy. Support the show

Send us a text Progress, Potential, And Possibilities has the honor of being joined today by Emmy Award winning Television Commentator, Radio Personality, and Newspaper Columnist, Mr. Juan Williams. Mr. Williams has been a Fox News Contributor since 1997 (including being a member of the nightly, current issue discussion show known as The Five), writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic Monthly and Time. Mr. Williams was a senior news analyst for National Public Radio for 11 years and was at The Washington Post for 23 years, working as an editorial writer, op-ed columnist, White House correspondent and national correspondent. Mr. Williams is an accomplished author with multiple books including Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years, and We the People: The Modern-Day Figures Who Have Reshaped and Affirmed the Founding Fathers' Vision of America. Mr. Williams has been active on his Alma matter’s (Haverford College) Board of Managers, in the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, in the Washington Journalism Center, and sits on the Board of Directors of the New York Civil Rights Coalition. Mr. Williams also serves as a Strategic Advisor to Generations United, an organization with a mission to improve the lives of children, youth, and older people through inter-generational collaboration, public policies, and programs. Support the show

Send us a text Prof Dr. Raheel Qamar, is a Tenured Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Former Rector at the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS University - Islamabad), an international organization aiming to reduce the growing gap between the developed and developing world through useful applications of science and technology. Prof. Qamar is also the current Head of the Directorate of Science and Technology, of The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO - Rabat, Morocco), which is an international non-profit organization emanating from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, specializing in the fields of education, science and culture. The Directorate of Science and Technology focuses on overcoming the challenges of the Islamic world, by promoting the adoption of modern technologies, acquisition or improvement of competences in new technologies at all levels, use of new tools and methods for knowledge based development and growth, fostering technology based economy, bridging the gender gap in science and technology, promoting sustainable natural resource management and environmental governance, and strengthening the resilience and preparedness for the natural disasters and climate change impacts. The Directorate engages national and international partners from academic communities, scientific institutions, governments, international organizations, national policy making bodies and civil society to address these challenges, and strengthen the solidarity among stakeholders by developing strong networks for engagement, collaboration and interaction to share expertise, techniques and tools. Prof. Qamar's research specialization includes Enzymology, Population & Molecular Genetics and Molecular Pathology, and is particularly interested in searching for the molecular basis of all forms of inherited diseases in the Pakistani populations. After obtaining an M.Sc. in Biochemistry from the University of Peshawar, Prof. Qamar worked as a Scientific Officer at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, Pakistan. He then proceeded to the USA to work on his Ph.D. in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of North Texas, as well as a Research Associate at the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine, Fort Worth. Before joining COMSATS, Prof. Qamar served at Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories as a Senior and Principal Scientific Officer, worked for a while with Dr. Chris Tyler-Smith at the Department of Biochemistry, at Oxford, and as Research Director of Shifa College of Medicine. Support the show

Send us a text Dr. Suzan Murray, D.V.M., D.A.C.Z.M. is a board-certified zoo veterinarian at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) and serves as both the Program Director of the Global Health Program and as SCBI’s chief wildlife veterinary medical officer. Dr. Murray leads an interdisciplinary team engaged in worldwide efforts to address health issues in endangered wildlife and combat emerging infectious diseases of global significance, including zoonotic diseases. Dr. Murray also acts as the Smithsonian liaison to the Foreign Animal Disease Threat and Pandemic Preparedness subcommittees of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology. Dr. Murray’s work focuses on providing clinical care to free-ranging wildlife, pathogen detection, advanced diagnostics, training of international veterinarians and other health professionals, capacity building, and collaboration in infectious disease research at the human-wildlife-domestic animal interface. She previously served as chief veterinarian for the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and has a wealth of clinical knowledge and experience with wildlife and zoo animals both free-ranging and in human care. Dr. Murray earned a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College, completed her veterinary degree from Tufts University, and after a surgical internship, she completed a residency in zoological medicine at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and became a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine (DACZM) in 2000. Dr. Murray has been either the principle investigator or co-principle investigator on several research grants including Morris Animal Foundation, Smithsonian Endowment, Smithsonian Women’s Committee, and James Bond Funds. Support the show

Send us a textBawa Jain is a visionary leader in the interfaith movement throughout the world. Mr. Jain is Founder and President of The Centre for Responsible Leadership (https://www.thecrl.org/​), a non-profit organization dedicated to assembling global thought leaders to find concrete solutions to the major challenges plaguing our world today. Mr. Jain is also the Chairman of the World Youth Peace Summit, which brings together dynamic young leaders who share the dream of peace, organizing Youth Peace Conferences and facilitating a worldwide network that links active young people, and the Secretary General of the World Council of Religious Leaders, an independent body, working to bring religious resources to support the work of the United Nations in a common quest for peace. Mr. Jain Co-Founded the Religious Initiative of The World Economic Forum, Founded The Gandhi King Awards for Non-Violence, and launched World Council of Religious Leader's Religion One on One Initiative and is a strong proponent of Religious Diplomacy. In addition to these activities, Mr. Jain's visionary contribution to the betterment of humanity is found in other programs that he inaugurated or has worked with , including The World Movement for Nonviolence, which fosters the practices and principles of non-violence in daily life, the Season for Nonviolence, involved in non-violence youth programs, and the Interfaith Center of New York, where he served as Vice President. In response to the requests of UN Agencies and governments, Mr. Jain travels around the world to speak on religious diplomacy, spirituality, religion, and peace. He is published and has been the recipient of numerous awards.Support the show

Send us a textAn estimated 40% of all global produce is wasted due to spoilage that occurs before it ever reaches consumers’ grocery bags. And this loss, not only represents loss due to quality or ripeness standards that consumers desire, but also a significant impact on global emissions and fresh water supplies that it took to produce and transport that produce, representing a combined figure of US$1 Trillion annually. Katherine Sizov is the Founder of Strella Biotechnology (https://www.strellabiotech.com/​), a company that builds novel bio-sensing platforms that can predict the ripeness of fruit and ultimately use this information to optimize supply chains by reducing food waste and increasing produce margins. Strella won the 2019 President’s Innovation Prize (PIP) award from University of Pennsylvania, the grand prize at the Arizona State University Innovation Open, and the Venture Award at O3 World’s 1682 conference, and is recently is coming off of a US$3.3 million seed round with some very prominent institutional investors, including Marc Cuban Companies, Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley, and Catapult Ventures. Katherine studied Molecular Biology and Chemistry, as well as Engineering Entrepreneurship, at the University of Pennsylvania.Support the show

Send us a textMs. Stephanie Stuckey is an American businesswoman, environmental lawyer, former 14-year member of the Georgia House of Representatives, former Director of Sustainability and Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Atlanta, and the current CEO of the Stuckey's Corporation (https://stuckeys.com/​), a roadside convenience store chain found on highways throughout the United States, concentrated in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest, although operations have existed as far east as Connecticut, and as far west as Oregon. Ms. Stuckey received both her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia. A cum laude graduate from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1992, she served as a public defender and then went into private practice before being elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1999. Ms. Stuckey served as a State Representative from the Decatur area for 14 years, during which time she was a member of the Judiciary and Natural Resources Committees. She then went on to serve as Executive Director of GreenLaw, an Atlanta-based public interest law firm dedicated to giving Georgia’s environment its day in court. In May 2015, she was appointed by Mayor Kasim Reed to be Director of Sustainability for the City of Atlanta. In November 2016, Ms. Stuckey was named the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Atlanta. She has also served as director of sustainability services for the Southface Institute, an Atlanta-based environmental nonprofit. In late 2019, Ms. Stuckey became the third-generation CEO of Stuckey's Corporation, where she has been focusing on store and brand growth, promoting the health benefits of pecans, and supporting the importance of the "great American road trip” in our society. Stuckey's Baseball Hat Giveaway for Progress, Potential, and Possibilities audience!: https://mailchi.mp/stuckeys/i0hbf6khq2​ Stuckey's Social Links: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StuckeysCorp...​ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3013...​ Instagram: @Stuckeys_Pecans Twitter: @Stuckeys_Pecans Pinterest: pinterest.com/stuckeys_pecans YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoQX4fpXgq3IbFxEkTLnttw%E2%80%8BSupport the show

Send us a textDr. Hanadi Khamis Al Hamad is the Medical Director of Rumailah Hospital and the Qatar Rehabilitation Institute, Chairperson of Geriatrics and Long Term Care Department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC - the principal public healthcare provider in the State of Qatar), National Lead for Healthy Ageing for the Qatar Ministry of Public Health, and the focal point for the elderly in the State of Qatar. Dr. Al Hamad is a Board Certified Senior Consultant in Internal Medicine specialized in Geriatrics. Dr. Al Hamad completed her M.Sc. degree in Healthcare Management from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, and was awarded a diploma in Senior Clinical Leaders Program from Harvard University. As a senior Qatari physician, Dr. Al Hamad has proven steadfast commitment in providing quality care for patients, promoting research activities and educational programs. In her role as the Chairperson of the Geriatrics Department, she has established new and innovative services including a Memory Clinic, Falls Clinic and Acute Care Unit in HMC. She is also a key member in various HMC and Ministry of Public Health committees. Dr. Al Hamad is the representative for the State of Qatar for the World Health Organization (WHO) Elderly People Care, Global Dementia Observatory Focal Point, and an Executive member of European Association of Medicine of Ageing. Dr. Al Hamad has recently been appointed as the National Health Strategy Lead for Healthy Ageing for the implementation of National Health Strategy, which aims to deliver the ambitious 19 National Health Targets. She is also an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine in Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar. Support the show

Send us a textDr Jane Pinelis, Ph.D. is the Chief of Testing, Evaluation, and Assessment, of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), at the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC). Dr. Pinelis has a BS, MS, and Ph.D., from the University of Michigan, in the field of statistics, where she spent time as a research assistant in their Center for Russian and East European Studies and their Institute for Social Research. Prior to assuming her current role at JAIC, Dr. Pinelis spent 4 years at the The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where she served in a variety of roles including as Director, Test and Evaluation of Algorithmic Warfare, where she was an on-site representative to the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, where she oversaw developmental and operational testing of artificial intelligence algorithms, including computer vision, machine translation, facial recognition, natural language processing, and human-machine teaming. Dr. Pinelis has also served as Test Science Lead for the Institute for Defense Analyses, and in scientific and analytical roles for the CNA group, as a liaison to both the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) is an organization exploring the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Network of Networks, and AI-enhanced communication for use in actual combat. It is a subdivision of the United States Armed Forces and was created in June 2018. The JAIC organization stated objective is to "transform the US Department of Defense by accelerating the delivery and adoption of AI to achieve mission impact at scale. Support the show

Send us a textProfessor Dr. Abraham (Avi) Loeb is the Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science at Harvard University. He joined Harvard University in 1993 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Astronomy, where he was tenured three years later. Prof. Dr. Loeb received his PhD in plasma physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel at age 24, led the first international project supported by the Strategic Defense Initiative / "Star Wars" program, and was subsequently a long-term member of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. Prof. Dr. Loeb has written 8 books, including most recently, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, and about 800 papers on a wide range of topics, including black holes, the first stars, the search for extraterrestrial life and the future of the Universe. Prof. Dr. Loeb had been the longest serving Chair of Harvard's Department of Astronomy, Founding Director of Harvard's Black Hole Initiative, and Director of the Institute for Theory and Computation within the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Prof. Dr. Loeb serves as Chair of the Board on Physics and Astronomy of the National Academies and is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the American Physical Society, and the International Academy of Astronautics. Prof. Dr. Loeb is a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology at the White House and a member of the Advisory Board for "Einstein: Visualize the Impossible" of the Hebrew University. Prof. Dr. Loeb also chairs the Advisory Committee for the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative and serves as the Science Theory Director for all Initiatives of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. In 2012, TIME magazine selected Prof. Dr. Loeb as one of the 25 most influential people in space and in 2020 he was selected among the 14 most inspiring Israelis of the last decade. Support the show